Review of Hase Kett Wiesel
Reese Kaplan
but surprisingly good Hase Kett Wiesel recumbent
trike. Delta trikes with one wheel up front and two
in back tend to get bashed by most riders as being
heavy, slow or just plain "uncool" to ride. Hase's
entry into this marketplace may change those opinions.
First of all, the Kett Weisel is shorter front to back
than entries from Penninger and others in the delta
marketplace. That means it will actually fit inside a
sport utility vehicle. At 72 inches long (182 cm) –
or slightly longer depending on your leg length (the
boom adjusts) – it's fairly compact for a delta
design. It also stores standing on end, so the length
is less an issue than it might otherwise be. Another
cool feature is that two of these can hook together to
form a tandem recumbent trike. Even a THIRD one can
be added for three riders on one vehicle!
The second thing that catches your eye is the camber
of the rear wheels. Unlike the perfectly
perpendicular wheels of the competition, the angle-in
must contribute to the stability while cornering. The
low seating position (16 inches/41 cm) is reminiscent
of some of the speedy recumbent bikes like a Rotator
or Dakota but not nearly as roadkill-low as you find
on most tadpole trikes.
The third thing that catches your attention is weight.
Penninger lists the weight of its Voyager at 52
lbs/24 kg. I've lifted one. I think that must have
been BEFORE adding pedals, seat and other components.
The much heralded Sun/Easy Racers EZ-3 trike is
similarly portly. The Kett Weisel is listed at 37
lbs/17 kg. I personally own a Vision VR-32
two-wheeled recumbent that's heavier than that!
Climbing into the Kett Wiesel is as easy as settling
into your favorite nylon-mesh lawn chair. It's only a
little lower. The under seat steering is accomplished
by using a tie-rod from the handlebars up to the front
wheel. This arrangement allows the Kett Wiesel to
turn a circle in its own diameter, much like a
bulldozer.
You're struck right away by the completeness of the
package. Right out of the box this trike includes a
Shimano 105 rear derailleur, Avid disc brakes, a full
set of fenders on all three wheels, Continental
pedals, headlight, taillight and generator, too. The
one I rode was a nicely finished black frame, black
seat and the Kett Wiesel name painted in red on the
round tubes on the boom.
As I pulled out of the parking lot at Northeast
Recumbents in Fairfield, NJ I was struck by how well
this trike accelerated. Granted, my trike experience
is pretty much limited to quick rides on various
tadpoles for only a few hundred yards and more
extensive riding on Penningers. The Kett Wiesel took
off more like a regular recumbent than a trike. The
seating position was high enough that I felt secure
that I'd be seen but low enough to benefit from
aerodynamics. Shifting from gear to gear made rather
dramatic changes due to its stock 9-speed setup. Most
Kett Wiesels are outfitted with a Schlumpf Mountain
Drive offering a gear range of 22" to 107" over the 18
speeds. The mechanical disc brakes were a first for
me and I nearly got thrown off the trike the first
time I hit the levers because they worked so well.
My initial reluctance to push it to the hilt was due
to the fact this trike did not belong to me, but as I
pedaled it more and more, I wanted to see how it could
function when really tested. I started taking some
very sharp turns that would easily have lifted the
wheel on a Penninger but the Hase trike stayed firmly
on the ground. With each successful test I tried
harder and harder intentionally to lift the wheel but
I'm pleased to report I failed. The combination of
the wheel camber, good Continental skinny tires, the
light weight and the low-slung seat contributed to a
comfortable and stable riding trike that made me
rethink the delta design genre.
For $2690 with the Schlumpf Mountain Drive, it seems a good value for the money.
Immediately following that test I climbed into an
Aussie-built Greenspeed GTO equipped with 72 speeds.
What can I add about Greenspeed that hasn't been said
before? It's the standard by which all other trikes
are judged. Yes, there are faster trikes. Yes, there
are more comfortable trikes. Yes, the basic brakes
are adequate but not exceptional. Yes, they ARE
expensive. But when you get past all of that, they
work beautifully. They are kind of like buying a
Mercedes Benz – you know that while other vehicles
have attributes that surpass them, the total package
is hard to beat.
First of all, I defy someone to tip a Greenspeed. I
am not the world's fastest cyclist by any means…but as
fast as I could go I'd make sudden left and right
turns and it performed like it was glued to the
pavement. I even took some speed bumps that would
rattle my fillings if I drove over them in my car and
it didn't upset the Greenspeed at all.
Johannes at Northeast Recumbents equipped these trikes
with upgraded Hope disc brakes, luggage racks, fenders
and other options that I may have to sacrifice in the interest of my bank book.
There's no way to describe the smile that breaks out
on your face whenever you ride a tadpole trike. It's
like a child on a go-kart for the first time. Another
automotive analogy would be the feeling of a Mazda
Miata – handles like a dream and VERY low to the
ground. Many people have concerns about being too low
to be seen while others don't like the challenge of
climbing into and out of the very low seats – a mere
10 inches/25 cm off the ground.
I'm planning to test a great many more tadpole-style
trikes for the sheer fun factor, but the Hase Kett
Wiesel opened my eyes to another possibility.
Joshua Goldberg
bent models and THEN I saw the Hase Kett Wiesel and I did not see the name
on the delta...must have looked at it for 10 minutes in awe ( a cousin of
wow). When the shop resident bent expert appeared all I could ask about was
the Delta. All black with a brushed Aluminium tie-rod on the left side of
the round boom back to the USS. The tail lite has a Diode that lets the lamp
stay on even when the wheel generator is not moving (nice safety feature).
My 1st thought was this has to be a kids trike...I stand 6 ft. tall and this
thing was just above my knees (16 inch wheels).It is nice to see someone
making deltas who is thinking straight and yes Reese is correct....72 inches
long and U can carry it with one hand.
Toronto Price btw is $4K @ Urbane Cyclist.
"Reese Kaplan" <reese...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b0e667b6.02100...@posting.google.com...
> Today I had the opportunity to test the seldom-seen
> but surprisingly good Hase Kett Wiesel recumbent
> trike. Delta trikes with one wheel up front and two
> in back tend to get bashed by most riders as being
> heavy, slow or just plain "uncool" to ride. Hase's
> entry into this marketplace may change those opinions.
>
> First of all, the Kett Weisel is shorter front to back
> than entries from Penninger and others in the delta
> marketplace. That means it will actually fit inside a
> sport utility vehicle. At 72 inches long (182 cm) -
> or slightly longer depending on your leg length (the
> boom adjusts) - it's fairly compact for a delta
Thomas Sherman
< http://www.ucycle.com/bikes/outlander.html >
Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)
1999 Blue RANS Tailwind/63, 2000 Red RANS Rocket, and Sunset No. 3 :)
Joshua Goldberg wrote:
> ...When the shop resident bent expert appeared...
Lewis Campbell
That was a great read.
Lewis.
http://home.earthlink.net/~limeylew/index.html
..........
reese...@yahoo.com (Reese Kaplan) wrote in message news:<b0e667b6.02100...@posting.google.com>...
Joshua Goldberg
"Thomas Sherman" <tshe...@qconline.com> wrote in message
news:3D9FFA36...@qconline.com...
Gary Mc
I live in Salt Lake City which is a long ways from any recumbent bike
store. I bought a Greenspeed GTO earlier this year, driving 650 miles
to test ride it first. My one regret in the process was that I could
not easily find a test ride on the Kettwiesel as well. I even emailed
Hase in Deutschland with questions. They told me that they were
trying find a dealer to carry their products in Salt Lake City. I
love my GTO which does have the disc brakes. Still, your review does
make me wonder.
Gary McCarty
reese...@yahoo.com (Reese Kaplan) wrote in message news:<b0e667b6.02100...@posting.google.com>...
Mikael Seierup
"Gary Mc" wrote ...
> Reese,
>
> I live in Salt Lake City which is a long ways from any recumbent bike
> store. I bought a Greenspeed GTO earlier this year, driving 650 miles
> to test ride it first. My one regret in the process was that I could
> not easily find a test ride on the Kettwiesel as well. I even emailed
> Hase in Deutschland with questions. They told me that they were
> trying find a dealer to carry their products in Salt Lake City. I
> love my GTO which does have the disc brakes. Still, your review does
> make me wonder.
One minor inconvenience is supposed to be
that only one of the rearwheels is driving it forward when pedalling.
Another is limited luggagecapacity for touring. You can put a bag
on the rear and panniers up front but I think a trailer is called for
for serious touring.
Still its a pretty neat trike at a great price (well in Europe anyway)
And comes with discs, fenders and lights. (still in Europe)
I also like the way you can just sit it on its end for storage.
Mikael
MLB
>
> I'm planning to test a great many more tadpole-style
> trikes for the sheer fun factor, but the Hase Kett
> Wiesel opened my eyes to another possibility.
>
Thanks! I'm interested in a way of taking my 8 y/o son with me on rides.
He's "too big" (he says) to do the Piccolo behind my WIzWheelz trike so
it's tandems (not overwhelmed with whats available for the $$) OR two
deltas with the ability to be a tandem AND seperate trikes for the same $$
bascially. VERY interesting.......
PS - I OFTEN describe the TT as a "three wheeled, human powered Miata".
Reese Kaplan
Yes, that's true. The rear bag available from Hase is sufficient for
a water bladder, tool kit, tubes and other normal supplies, but you'd
probably be limited to the optional front rack (and short panniers)
for additional storage. Personally, I've never done any multi-day
touring so it hadn't occurred to that this limitation existed, but
it's a point well taken.
Reese Kaplan
Two (or three) Hase Kett Wiesels can link together, as can two
Penningers (either model) or a mixture of the two since the bracket
from Kett Wiesel accepts the front fork from any other bike or trike.
MLB
> from Kett Wiesel accepts the front fork from any other bike or trike.
>
Even MORE interesting! That means I could just buy one trike and one much
cheaper two wheeled bent and have a tandem on the cheap! (Well, relatively
speaking)
Ken Kobayashi
>
>> Two (or three) Hase Kett Wiesels can link together, as can two
>> Penningers (either model) or a mixture of the two since the bracket
I don't think it would work on a bike. I haven't seen the coupling
myself but if it's designed for a delta trike, it must have some
freedom of movement in three axes. If it's fixed, an uneven road
surface will cause the coupling to twist and break. If you put a bike
on there, it'd just fall over.
Donn Cave
| I walked into my local bent store last Wednesday and looked at the usual
| bent models and THEN I saw the Hase Kett Wiesel and I did not see the name
| on the delta...must have looked at it for 10 minutes in awe ( a cousin of
| wow). When the shop resident bent expert appeared all I could ask about was
| the Delta. All black with a brushed Aluminium tie-rod on the left side of
| the round boom back to the USS. The tail lite has a Diode that lets the lamp
| stay on even when the wheel generator is not moving (nice safety feature).
| My 1st thought was this has to be a kids trike...I stand 6 ft. tall and this
| thing was just above my knees (16 inch wheels).It is nice to see someone
| making deltas who is thinking straight and yes Reese is correct....72 inches
| long and U can carry it with one hand.
I've seen them at a dealer in Seattle. I believe it's a capacitor,
not a diode, but anyway it looked pretty effective. As for carrying
capacity - I have forgotten the names, but there are two models, and
apparently the Kettwiesel would be the lighter sport model. The Lepus,
was it? is really the one I got a good look at, and it's heavier but
set up like a wagon, big platform in the back for more stuff than you
want to carry. I am basically into 2 wheels, but these trikes make
it look interesting.
Donn
Ken Kobayashi
wrote:
>Quoth "Joshua Goldberg" <salma...@sympatico.ca>:
>The tail lite has a Diode that lets the lamp
>| stay on even when the wheel generator is not moving (nice safety feature).
>
>I've seen them at a dealer in Seattle. I believe it's a capacitor,
>not a diode, but anyway it looked pretty effective.
The DTpoplight Plus from Busch & Muller uses a big capacitor. It
should work with any 6-volt dynamo, and you can get one from Peter
White Cycles. I have one on my upright folding bike and it works well.
It only has one LED but it's a very bright LED, sitting behind a huge
lens/diffuser/reflector.
Robert L. Bass
Eventually someone is going to call Ripley's. :^)
Gary Mc
I was looking at German recumbent (liegerad) sites and came across a
recumbent expo. They had a picture of 5-6 Kettwiesels on display in a
train fashion. I would wonder about coordinating the braking in
practice. When I was thinking of buying two for my wife and myself,
I thought that we might ride together up the mountains, but definitely
come down separately. My wife is more of speed demon than I am. She
would probably refuse to brake at all.
Gary McCarty, Greenspeed GTO, Salt Lake City
Reese Kaplan
> myself but if it's designed for a delta trike, it must have some
> freedom of movement in three axes. If it's fixed, an uneven road
> surface will cause the coupling to twist and break. If you put a bike
> on there, it'd just fall over.
Ken may be right. I'm not an engineer and have simply echoed some
marketing hype. Best to verify that with the manufacturer.
Joshua Goldberg
just something trendy to do in Germany.
"Gary Mc" <mcch...@sisna.com> wrote in message
news:8da98010.02100...@posting.google.com...
Hillel
> but surprisingly good Hase Kett Wiesel recumbent
> trike. Delta trikes with one wheel up front and two
> in back tend to get bashed by most riders as being
> heavy, slow or just plain "uncool" to ride. Hase's
> entry into this marketplace may change those opinions.
>
Great review, Reese. I had a similar test ride of
a Hase Lepus last May at the local recumbent rally.
The owner brought it in the back of his PT Cruiser.
Snowman
Recumbents in Fairfield, NJ I was struck by how well
this trike accelerated.
Hmmm-mmm ... As I pulled out of the parking lot ... I was struck by
...
This is not a turn of phrase that I like to see in writing, especially
in a bike news group. Please, enough of us get struck ...
Snowman